{"id":39074,"date":"2022-03-04T14:43:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T14:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/?p=39074"},"modified":"2022-03-04T14:43:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T14:43:06","slug":"shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/03\/04\/shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Shepherds Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) Identification Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Shepherds Purse \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Edible<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-39074 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/03\/04\/shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide\/shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-basal-leaves\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-basal-leaves-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-39082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-basal-leaves-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-basal-leaves-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-basal-leaves.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-39082'>\n\t\t\t\tHarry Rose from South West Rocks, Australia, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/03\/04\/shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide\/shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-150x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-39081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-150x300.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-512x1024.jpg 512w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-75x150.jpg 75w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-39081'>\n\t\t\t\tYurii Basov, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/03\/04\/shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide\/shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-39080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-39080'>\n\t\t\t\tRob Hille, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/03\/04\/shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide\/shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-39079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-39079'>\n\t\t\t\tAnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/03\/04\/shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide\/shepherds-purse-plant-growing-on-a-footpath\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-plant-growing-on-a-footpath-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-39077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-plant-growing-on-a-footpath-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-plant-growing-on-a-footpath-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-plant-growing-on-a-footpath.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-39077'>\n\t\t\t\tAnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/03\/04\/shepherds-purse-capsella-bursa-pastoris-identification-guide\/shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-39075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-39075'>\n\t\t\t\tAnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Shepherds Purse is a tasty, native, annual member of the mustard family, the common name comes from the shape of the seed pods which look like old fashioned purses. It\u2019s very common in fact it\u2019s the world\u2019s 2<sup>nd<\/sup> most prolific wild plant.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Common Names<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Shepherds Purse, Mothers Heart<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Botanical Name<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Capsella bursa-pastoris<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Scientific Classification<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kingdom<\/strong> \u2013 Plantae<\/p>\n<p><strong>Order<\/strong> \u2013 Brassicales<\/p>\n<p><strong>Family<\/strong> \u2013 Brassicaceae<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Physical Characteristics for Shepherds Purse<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Leaves<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The plant develops two types of leaves, the basal leaves grow from a rosette. These are deeply lobed and look a little like Dandelion leaves. From the centre of the rosette a flowering stalk emerges, the leaves from this are spear shaped and are have much smoother edges.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39080\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39080\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-39080\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-the-leaves-from-the-flowering-spike.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39080\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rob Hille, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Flowers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The flowers are white and like all Brassicas they form a cross. They grow on top of a straight stem in racemes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39079\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39079\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-39079\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-the-flowers.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39079\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">AnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39075\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39075\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-39075\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-shot-of-flowers-and-seed-pods.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39075\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">AnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Seeds<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They are heart shaped and look like an old fashioned draw-string purse<strong>. <\/strong>The seeds are inside the pods and each plant can produce up to 3000 seeds.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39081\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39081\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-39081\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-150x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-150x300.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-512x1024.jpg 512w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod-75x150.jpg 75w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Shepherds-purse-close-up-of-one-seed-pod.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39081\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yurii Basov, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Habitat<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s one of the most common weeds in the UK and can be found almost anywhere. Most often it\u2019s found on waste ground and the edges of farmers\u2019 fields.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Known Hazards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>None known.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Could be Confused with&#8230;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>With the distinctive seeds pods it would be hard to confuse it with anything else.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Edible Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The plant has a lovely spicy, cabbage flavour. The leaves, flowers and pods can be eaten raw or cooked.<\/p>\n<p>In Asia it is grown as a cultivated crop and used is added to rice cakes and wontons.<\/p>\n<p>The dried seeds make a good substitute for black pepper.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Notes on Herbal Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It has a long history of use in herbal medicine and is typically taken in the form of teas made from the leaves and seeds. It is said to be useful in treating heart and circulatory problems including mild heart failure, low blood pressure, nervous heart complaints, and headache, vomiting blood, blood in the urine, diarrhoea, and bladder infections.<\/p>\n<p>Women can use the plant to treat shepherd&#8217;s premenstrual problems, long periods, and menstrual cramps.<\/p>\n<p>As it\u2019s thought to stem blood flow the leaves can be applied directly to the skin to treat cuts and nosebleeds.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Extra notes from the Foragers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The plant is classed as a &#8216;protocarnivore&#8217;, since it has been found that its seeds attract and kill nematodes as a means to locally enrich the soil.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Capsella_bursa-pastoris\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Capsella_bursa-pastoris<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.first-nature.com\/flowers\/capsella-bursa-pastoris.php#:~:text=Shepherd&#039;s%20Purse%20is%20one%20of,to%20help%20confirm%20its%20identity\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.first-nature.com\/flowers\/capsella-bursa-pastoris.php#:~:text=Shepherd&#8217;s%20Purse%20is%20one%20of,to%20help%20confirm%20its%20identity<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shepherds Purse \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Edible Shepherds Purse is a tasty, native, annual member of the mustard family, the common name comes from the shape of the seed pods which look like old fashioned purses. It\u2019s very common in fact it\u2019s the world\u2019s 2nd most prolific&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":39079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,86],"tags":[239,465,1317,152,237,1315,104,238],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39074"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39074"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39262,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39074\/revisions\/39262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}